The Mail Server:
If you've heard of one mail server, chances are it's Microsoft Exchange.
It's another big seller, easy money for people like me. It's oversold to be honest and many small businesses do not need be hosting their own mail. Added expenses and the extra risk of virus infection of your server is the biggest downfall.
Many times, exchange is loaded as part of Microsoft's Small Business Server package, you are charged for the install but it's not being used. I typically do NOT add exchange to the SBS system and i'll tell you why.
Forwarding any ports into your single domain controller is a big no no, and even microsoft is starting to realize that. They've removed the terminal server application mode from 2003 SBS just for that reason, forwarding ports. I don't know why they still include exchange as part of the package. If you're considering hosting your own mail, there are many things to consider before doing so. It's not just a matter of buying exchange or any other mail software and loading it on a server. Of course that's the way alot of techs do it but it's not the right way.
If running microsoft exchange, you definitely need to consider enterprise level antivirus and anti-spam software. These come at a stiff price if you have many users, they are charged out at cost per user. Why? Any virus destined for an email account on your domain is going to land in your exchange server. I've had a customer in the past running exchange, and their server was averaging 160 viruses per hour hitting their server. They got infected many times over the years and their server was steadily up and down.
On the other end of the spectrum is the linux based mail server. Most linux mail server software packages are cheap, some are shipped with the installation cd. Others are paid commercial software packages. These again are great softwares but the same pitfalls exist. Being linux, it can't be infected with the current string of windows viruses but you still need to run antivirus (example clamav is great and free) as chances are you're running windows workstations. I like working with mail servers but again, as a small business do you really need the added expense and hassle of hosting your own? Domain hosting is very cheap these days, very stable and comes with spam software. What more can you ask for...
If you are a medium to large business, then off-site hosting can be a bit of a pain and a mail server could be for you. It can be a great expense but can pay for itself in no time. You are not limited by the amount of email you can store when you run your own mail server.
If you're interested in hosting your own email, feel free to contact me and discuss your needs.
Thank you.
Robert Hynes
http://www.rhcnetworks.com
Edmonton, Alberta.
Specialist in Servers, Networking and Network Security.
If you've heard of one mail server, chances are it's Microsoft Exchange.
It's another big seller, easy money for people like me. It's oversold to be honest and many small businesses do not need be hosting their own mail. Added expenses and the extra risk of virus infection of your server is the biggest downfall.
Many times, exchange is loaded as part of Microsoft's Small Business Server package, you are charged for the install but it's not being used. I typically do NOT add exchange to the SBS system and i'll tell you why.
Forwarding any ports into your single domain controller is a big no no, and even microsoft is starting to realize that. They've removed the terminal server application mode from 2003 SBS just for that reason, forwarding ports. I don't know why they still include exchange as part of the package. If you're considering hosting your own mail, there are many things to consider before doing so. It's not just a matter of buying exchange or any other mail software and loading it on a server. Of course that's the way alot of techs do it but it's not the right way.
If running microsoft exchange, you definitely need to consider enterprise level antivirus and anti-spam software. These come at a stiff price if you have many users, they are charged out at cost per user. Why? Any virus destined for an email account on your domain is going to land in your exchange server. I've had a customer in the past running exchange, and their server was averaging 160 viruses per hour hitting their server. They got infected many times over the years and their server was steadily up and down.
On the other end of the spectrum is the linux based mail server. Most linux mail server software packages are cheap, some are shipped with the installation cd. Others are paid commercial software packages. These again are great softwares but the same pitfalls exist. Being linux, it can't be infected with the current string of windows viruses but you still need to run antivirus (example clamav is great and free) as chances are you're running windows workstations. I like working with mail servers but again, as a small business do you really need the added expense and hassle of hosting your own? Domain hosting is very cheap these days, very stable and comes with spam software. What more can you ask for...
If you are a medium to large business, then off-site hosting can be a bit of a pain and a mail server could be for you. It can be a great expense but can pay for itself in no time. You are not limited by the amount of email you can store when you run your own mail server.
If you're interested in hosting your own email, feel free to contact me and discuss your needs.
Thank you.
Robert Hynes
http://www.rhcnetworks.com
Edmonton, Alberta.
Specialist in Servers, Networking and Network Security.
